stay
1 Americanverb (used without object)
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to spend some time in a place, in a situation, with a person or group, etc..
He stayed in the army for ten years.
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to continue to be as specified, as to condition or state.
to stay clean.
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to hold out or endure, as in a contest or task (followed by with orat ).
Please stay with the project as long as you can.
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to keep up, as with a competitor (followed bywith ).
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Poker. to continue in a hand by matching an ante, bet, or raise.
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to stop or halt.
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to pause or wait, as for a moment, before proceeding or continuing; linger or tarry.
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Archaic. to cease or desist.
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Archaic. to stand firm.
verb (used with object)
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to stop or halt.
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to hold back, detain, or restrain, as from going further.
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to suspend or delay (actions, proceedings, etc.).
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to appease or satisfy temporarily the cravings of (the stomach, appetite, etc.).
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to remain through or during (a period of time).
We stayed two days in San Francisco.
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to remain to the end of; remain beyond (usually followed byout ).
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Archaic. to await.
noun
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the act of stopping or being stopped.
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a stop, halt, or pause; a standstill.
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a sojourn or temporary residence.
a week's stay in Miami.
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Law. a stoppage or arrest of action; suspension of a judicial proceeding.
The governor granted a stay of execution.
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Informal. staying power; endurance.
idioms
noun
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a flat strip of steel, plastic, etc., used especially for stiffening corsets, collars, etc.
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a long rod running between opposite walls, heads or sides of a furnace, boiler, tank, or the like, to strengthen them against internal pressures.
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Chiefly British. stays, a corset.
verb (used with object)
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to support, prop, or hold up (sometimes followed byup ).
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to sustain or strengthen mentally or spiritually.
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to rest on (something, as a foundation or base) for support.
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to cause something to become fixed or to rest on (a support, foundation, base, etc.)
noun
verb (used with object)
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to support or secure with a stay or stays.
to stay a mast.
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to put (a ship) on the other tack.
verb (used without object)
idioms
verb
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(intr) to continue or remain in a certain place, position, etc
to stay outside
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(copula) to continue to be; remain
to stay awake
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to reside temporarily, esp as a guest
to stay at a hotel
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(tr) to remain for a specified period
to stay the weekend
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(intr) to reside permanently or habitually; live
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archaic to stop or cause to stop
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(intr) to wait, pause, or tarry
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(tr) to delay or hinder
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(tr)
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to discontinue or suspend (a judicial proceeding)
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to hold in abeyance or restrain from enforcing (an order, decree, etc)
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to endure (something testing or difficult, such as a race)
a horse that stays the course
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to keep pace (with a competitor in a race, etc)
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(intr) poker to raise one's stakes enough to stay in a round
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(tr) to hold back or restrain
to stay one's anger
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(tr) to satisfy or appease (an appetite, etc) temporarily
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archaic (tr) to quell or suppress
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archaic (intr) to stand firm
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See put
noun
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the act of staying or sojourning in a place or the period during which one stays
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the act of stopping or restraining or state of being stopped, etc
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the suspension of a judicial proceeding, etc
stay of execution
noun
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anything that supports or steadies, such as a prop or buttress
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a thin strip of metal, plastic, bone, etc, used to stiffen corsets, etc
verb
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(often foll by up) to prop or hold
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(often foll by up) to comfort or sustain
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to cause to rely or depend
noun
Etymology
Origin of stay1
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English staien, from Anglo-French estaier, Old French ester, from Latin stāre “to stand, stand up, be standing, stand in attendance”; stand
Origin of stay2
First recorded in 1505–15; apparently same as stay 3 (compare Old French estayer “to hold in place, support”), or perhaps derivative of Middle English steye “rope to steady a mast”; stay 3
Origin of stay3
First recorded before 1150; Middle English stai, stey(e), Old English stæg; cognate with German Stag, Dutch stag, Old Norse stag
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Years after leaving the television business and a brief career as a media coach, Kavanagh runs the site as a kind of public service and a way to stay engaged and keep mentally fit.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 5, 2026
On Jan. 7 of this year, the Supreme Court denied a stay of a lower court’s decision that mandated a return to a previous union healthcare plan.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 5, 2026
He said he allowed a woman from out of state to stay in his room for more than a week during last year’s rains.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 5, 2026
The Maritime and Coast Guard agency also issued advice, including to stay well back from cliff edges and avoid walking near the base of cliffs.
From BBC • Apr. 4, 2026
I don’t feel like I have to do things to make him happy, to be someone I’m not to get him to stay.
From "Red Flags and Butterflies" by Sheryl Azzam
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
